DRIVES. 197 



clear the country of the bear, and of the wolf at thu 

 same time. There were four drives, or large hunts, or- 

 ganized during the winter ; two in Brimfield, one in 

 Springfield, and one in Portage. They were frequently 

 got up in the new country by those who were not pro- 

 fessed hunters, for the purpose of taking a few dee/ and 

 turkeys, then so common. A large tract of wild land, 

 the half or fourth of a township, was surrounded by 

 lines of men, with such intervals that each person could 

 see or hear those next to him, right and left. The whole 

 acted under the command of a captain and at least four 

 subordinates, who were generally mounted. At a signal 

 of tin horns, or trumpets, every man advanced in line 

 towards the centre, preserving an equal distance from 

 those on either hand, and making as much noise aa 

 practicable. From the middle of each side of the exte- 

 rior line, a blazed line of trees was previously marked 

 to the centre as a guide, and one of the sub-officers pro- 

 ceeded along each as the march progressed. About 

 a half or three-fourths of a mile from the central point, 

 a ring of blazed trees was made, and a similar one at the 

 ground of meeting, with a diameter at least equal to the 

 greatest rifle range. On arriving at the first ring, the 

 advancing lines halted till the commandant made a cir- 

 cuit, and saw the men equally distributed and all gaps 

 closed. By this time a herd of deer might be occasion- 

 ally seen driving in affright from one line to another. 

 At the signal, the ranks move forward to the second 

 ring, which is drawn around the foot of a eminence, or 

 the margin of an open swamp or lake. Here, if the 

 drive has been a successful one, great numbers of tur- 



